European Factors to Watch-Equity futures rise

Redacción de Reuters

5 MIN. DE LECTURA

(Adds futures prices, company news items)

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - European equity futures rose on Thursday, marking a recovery for the region's stock markets after two consecutive sessions of losses that pushed a benchmark equity index down to a one-week low.

Futures on the Euro STOXX 50, Germany's DAX, France's CAC and Britain's FTSE were all up by 1.1-1.3 percent.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 2.3 percent on Wednesday at its lowest level in around a week, having extended losses from a 1.3 percent slide in the previous session.

A busy stream of corporate results saw mixed fortunes for some of Europe's top companies.

However, drugmaker Bayer saw lower-than-expected core earnings grow in the fourth quarter, while British bank Lloyds set aside another 2.1 billion pounds in the fourth quarter of 2015 to cover compensation for customers mis-sold loan insurance.

According to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, 53 percent of companies on the European STOXX 600 index have met or beaten market expectations with their fourth quarter results, while 47 percent have missed market forecasts.

COMPANY NEWS:

ABENGOA :

Abengoa SA put its U.S. bioenergy unit into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday with up to $10 billion in liabilities, the latest twist in the multinational parent's race to avoid becoming Spain's largest corporate failure.

ABI :

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, hiked its proposed dividend and forecast challenging markets in Brazil and China after fourth-quarter earnings came in below expectations.

AIRBUS :

Airbus Group Chief Executive Tom Enders said in statement on Wednesday that he did not see how a combination of Honeywell International Inc and United Technologies Inc (UTC) would be in his company's interests.

AXA :

AXA, Europe's second-biggest insurer, reported a 12 percent rise in net profit for 2015 on Thursday and said it had delivered on its targets.

BAYER :

German drugmaker Bayer saw lower-than-expected core earnings grow in the fourth quarter as it increased research and development expenses and a weak Latin America business weighed on its crop chemicals divisions.

BHP BILLITON :

BHP Billiton Ltd was sued in the United States by investors who accused the Anglo-Australian mining company of fraudulently overstating its ability to manage safety risks prior to November's fatal dam burst at a Brazilian mine it co-owned and operated.

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM :

Deutsche Telekom, Germany's biggest telecoms operator, beat expectations for its fourth-quarter results as profits grew in its home market as well as at its U.S. operations.

DELTA LLOYD :

Dutch media magnate John de Mol has increased his personal stake in insurer Delta Lloyd to 5 percent from 3 percent, according to filings with the Netherlands' Financial Markets Authority published on Thursday.

HENKEL :

Germany's Henkel, maker of Schwarzkopf shampoo and Loctite glue, said on Thursday it expected its underlying return on sales to improve in 2016 and said it was on track to reach its medium-term targets.

HOCHTIEF :

LLOYDS :

Lloyds Banking Group on Thursday set aside another 2.1 billion pounds in the fourth quarter of 2015 to cover compensation for customers mis-sold loan insurance after reporting a 5 percent rise in its underlying full-year profit.

NN :

NN Group, the Dutch insurer, on Thursday reported lower-than-expected core earnings for the fourth quarter as its asset management business continued to decline.

RSA :

British insurer RSA reported higher profits.

SAFRAN :

France's Safran posted lower annual operating profit on Thursday after taking 698 million euros ($769.7 million) in charges mainly related to delays in development of its Silvercrest jet engine.

TECHNIP :

French oil services firm Technip maintained its dividend after better than expected revenue in the last quarter of 2015 but said it did not expect any material change in priorities from its oil and gas clients.